This is a good post. If the older guys are leaving as you say, I'll slide in my 2 cents. I didnt read every reply so some of what I say may have been said.
First off, AW and AH are two totally different animals. AW had arenas of the same planes, but gave a choice for what they called RR and FR. Less people per arena compared to AH's LW MAs, but it didnt feel it. AH has more arenas, each slightly different in plane sets. The main difference is that there is no easy setting for RR like in AW "relaxed Realism". This forces all players into one arena, or atleast one style. Learn or burn.
This is good because it forces everyone to fly together and more realisticly. But its also a bad thing from my point of view. It forces grown men to play with children. This is never good. It exposes children to adults in a way they may not be used to. Rather than looking up to them, they look at them as peers and no respect comes from it, and likely carries over into their real world in some small way.
The adults among children, often get caught up in the fight and competition, often forget they are playing with children, and start acting like one themselves. Maybe its because I flew in FR "full realism" (as real as AW got) I didnt fly with kids, I didnt know of any in the game. I suspected it was a cost thing, but most likely the kids were in RR.
I would love to see an arena tailored for adults if there was a way to do it. Preferrably 35+
That said, in AW the good pilots were for the most part good people. Many of the good pilots in here come off as just plain nasty. It makes for a sour environment. Most, rather than teach, would rather belittle their opponents, "OWNED"...yuck. The funny thing is remember when some of these new aces werent very good, and seeing their personalities change when they finally got good...and many for the worse.
Another thing, there are too many people in one arena. Too many hordes, too few good fights between pilots. Less is better. Its more personal. I think that is the lure of early and mid wars for many in here. You get to know your opponents better, and chances are, with a few exceptions you can have better relationships with them.
Another thing different with AW was you didnt have the HO. You had to outfly the guy to get atleast a 45 degree angle to have your bullets actually hit. ( Although some 38s did seem to get HO hits at times)
In here you have the luxury of spraying at any angle with no real flying other than FAST to worry about.
Finally, many of us have played for years. No matter that its one of our favorite pass times, its tends to get stale after so many years. For the rest of you remember this. There were many sim aces before you, and there will be many after you. You arent the be all end all. Get over yourselves, learn to help others who find this game difficult, and start making the next crop of aces so you have good fights ahead of you.
Sorry for the long winded reply, but AH isnt the problem. Its the mentality of its players.
Play nice.
